Deduction of Love
by Prof.Wayne
Summary: Evil lurks in every corner, desires are wielded by everyone,one bad decision can ruin everything...For Shinichi Kudo, this isn't anything new...But when he stumbles upon a meeting by an unknown organization, his entire life is changed forever. Now having to uncover the truth as a child, can he find the truth, or will fate not allow it?
1. Riddles Under The MoonLight

**Notes:** _Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever Detective Conan Story titled "Deduction of Love"  
_

 _This is a Shinichi/Sonoko what if story where instead of Shinichi growing up and becoming infatuated with Ran, it's instead Sonoko. This isn't a role reversal or anything where Ran is suddenly rich and Sonoko is now Mouri's daughter or anything like that. This is simply what if some events changed early in Shinichi's life to where he loved Sonoko instead of Ran, everyone is still in character(With some tweaks of course) and for the most part nothing has been drastically changed yet._

 _I hope for this story to be quite long, telling a nice and complete What If story, so of course Conan will eventually be introduced, but since I'm not going with a pre-established relationship and coming up with a fairy rare one, the first 10-15 chapters will be focused on showing off Shinichi's and Sonoko's relationship, case in point, this first chapter is about how the two of them got together(One of the few big changes is that I'm going to have them actually together as I feel it can create a bigger emotional bond.)_

 _Finally I want to say each chapter will be about 4000-8000 words long, and if it's ever shorter or longer, I'll try to make up for it with a new regular chapter quickly out soon after. Also I am fairly new to Fanfiction, so I'm always looking for advice on how to improve. I hope everyone enjoys this introductory chapter and will look forward to the next one!_

* * *

 **November 12, 2007**

As the gray sky hid the ground below it, the wind gently blew as the leaves, now cloaked in an orange texture, fell from their branches and onto the ground, only to be squished by the constant high schoolers as they treked along the path to Teitan High School.

Among the students walking to the school were two girls, both dressed in the Teitan High School uniform. One of the girls was named Ran Mouri, daughter of private detective Kogoro Mouri...The other girl was a bit more famous, her name was Sonoko Suzuki, daughter of Shiro Suzuki, the chairman of the Suzuki Financial Group.

"I'm telling you Ran! You have to put yourself out there more! You're never going to get a cute boy if you stay old school with your clothes, show some more skin, make sure to show off your curves!" Sonoko was going on her usual speech to Ran about how she could get any boy she wanted, as long as Ran followed Sonoko's advice.

Ran just gave a nervous laugh and a nod to each of Sonoko's claims, always dreading when this subject came up because she knew how Sonoko got when it came to romance, or just boys in general. "Well...I'm not really looking for anyone right now...I mean, I help take care of dad right now and…"

"Oh forget about him Ran! He can do the chores around the house and let you have some fun and live your life! Your only young once after all, you shouldn't let this opportunity go to waste!" Sonoko then continued on with her dating advice to Ran, as they got closer and closer to the cherry blossom tree they always waited at each morning.

"W-Well, maybe if I got some time but I really don't have time right now."

"Ran you say that everyday…" Sonoko narrowed her gaze at Ran, which just made Ran give another awkward laugh and nod to her, hoping that agreeing with her would get her to change subjects.

"W-Well...Is that how you and Shinichi-kun got together?" Ran used a teasing tone to get right back at Sonoko who turned red before looking away as she mumbled.

"Well, not really...But…" Ran gave a small laugh as Sonoko quieted down as she looked at the passing students. It wasn't a secret that Shinichi Kudo, a high school detective who is often called a modern day Sherlock Holmes, and Sonoko were in a relationship. After all, the two had been best friends since childhood, and though they often fought with each other over minor things, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's minds that the two of them were closer than a knitted sweater.

"By the way...You never told me how you and Shinichi-kun got together."

"Eh? I-I didn't?"

Ran shook her head before continuing "No...I just remember you texting me that you had big news and when I called you to ask what it was, you were going a mile a second, I'm surprised I even made out that you two were together."

"O-Oh I see…" Sonoko got even redder for a moment as she shook her head "W-Well I guess I can tell you...You remember last year when my family had that big company party at my house?"

"Yeah I remember, you complained all week about how it would only have a bunch of old guys and no cute boys."

"Yeah, and I was right too! There was nothing but a bunch of old guys!...Well anyway...Shinichi's family was over as well since our moms are best friends. I was walking around outside to get away from having to shake more hands when…

* * *

 _Flashback: Suzuki House Party_

"Ugh...If I have to shake one more hand, I think my hands going to fall off…" As Sonoko walked through her family's garden as the moonlight shown down on her, she felt like she was about to pass out asleep.

She had spent all day getting prepared for this party, one she didn't have any expectations for, which was only made worse as she began to hope that maybe some cute guys would be present...Only for that to be dashed as gray hair after gray hair walked in, making her tired before it even began.

Once the party did begin, it was nothing but people shaking hands and drinking...That was it, nothing more, nothing less...It made her question why she even had to attend.

Giving a sigh as stopped at the bench in the garden, she plopped down and looked up at the sky "Umu...I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to have Kid-Sama come down and steal my heart…?"

Sonoko eyes sparkled as thoughts of the mysterious Phantom Thief, Kaitou Kid, entered her mind...But that was dashed as another voice spoke up behind her. "Well I'm the opposite of a thief, but I hope you don't mind."

Sonoko plopped out from her fantasies as she looked behind her and saw her childhood friend, Shinichi Kudo, standing behind her dressed in a black tux with a rose pinned on his right breast "Oh Shinichi...What are you doing out here?"

"I could be asking the same of you...This is your party isn't it?" Sonoko scoffed as she turned back around and waved her hand.

"More like it's more papa's party, I was forced to attend...Unlike you...That's actually the better question, why are you here? Only your parents were invited…"

"Oh are you saying you don't want me here?" Shinichi gave a small laugh as he walked up to the bench, and while Sonoko didn't say anything or turn around, she could feel her face heat up a bit. "Well, sorry for coming uninvited."

Shinichi walked from around the bench and to the front as he sat down beside Sonoko, the two of them were quiet as they looked up at the night sky "...What are you sorry for? You come here uninvited all the time anyway, don't you?"

"Hehe, I suppose that's true...You don't mind, do you?"

"Stupid, If I did, I would have said something already."

"Hehe, well I'm glad that you enjoy my company." Shinichi gave a small laugh as Sonoko looked away and mumbled.

"I-It isn't like that…" Shinichi's small laughter quietly ended as the two of them sat in silence once more, the area around them illuminated by the moonlight.

"...You said you weren't excited for this party because no cute guys would be attending, right?"

"H-Huh? Yeah that's right...Just a bunch of old guys and their wives. I mean a few of them have offered for me to date their sons, but most of their sons are old enough to be my dad, so no thanks to that."

"I see...Do you want to play a game?"

"Huh? A game?"

"Yeah! A deduction game. If you can deduce what I'm trying to say from my words, you get a present. If you can't, then you owe me lunch for one week."

"O-One week!? T-Thats not fair! I don't even know what my present is!"

"Hehe, it's whatever you want it to be, no restrictions."

"Anything…? So...You'll give me lunch for the rest of my life?"

"If that's what you want." Shinichi gave a smile towards Sonoko who pondered his game request for a moment before shrugging and turning to face him fully.

"Fine, but don't come complaining to me when thirty years from now, I'm having you buy me a five star meal!"

"No complaining I swear! Now the game is very simple, I'm going to say five phrases, if you can guess the meaning behind every phrase, then you win...But if you fail just one, then I win...Fair enough?"

"Hmph! You may be a great detective, but I'm the Deduction Queen!"

"Hm...Didn't you earn that nickname by just relaying the case details that I told you over the phone?"

"E-Eh well...A-Anyway, hurry up with the first phrase!"

"Hehe, alright alright…" Shinichi cleared his throat as he crossed his arms and looked Sonoko dead in the eyes. "The first phrase... 'I have to live with the green-eyed monster, but I don't have to let anyone know.'...Now, your turn."

"Huh? What kind of phrase is that? I can't figure that out!"

"Oh, so the Deduction Queen is already conceding a weeks worth of lunch to me?" Sonoko bit down on her lip as she began to think.

"Green-eyed monster...Money?...Maybe...But no you're not rich...Jewelry?...Maybe you really like green rings...Thats kinda like a green eye...But no that wouldn't make sense either...Hm….Oh!" Sonoko clapped her hands as she gave a smug look to Shinichi "We read about this in class the other day! It's referencing Shakespeare isn't it? He uses Green-Eyed Monster to describe Jealousy!...Wait, you're living with Jealousy?"

Shinichi nodded as he smiled "Correct! The first phrase means to live with Jealousy while not letting anyone know that you are Jealous!"

"Hm? What are you jealous about?"

"Hehe, part of the game is figuring out what all the phrases mean put together! So I can't exactly tell you the answer...Now, are you ready for the second Phrase?"

"Hmph...Fine then, I'll figure it out at the end anyway...Now give me the second Phrase already!"

"Very well then, the second phrase…'Laugh and the world laughs with you...Weep...And you weep alone.'...That is the second phrase."

"Hm...I think I've heard that before...Oh yeah, we also heard this in class the other day...It's a poem called Solitude, and it basically says that when your happy and having a good time, everyone is there for you...But when your sad and down and you need them the most...They aren't there...Right…" Shinichi again nodded as he kept his confidant smile.

"Correct, that is indeed what it means."

"Um...Is everything alright Shinichi? If this game is just to let me know your having a tough time, you can talk to-"

"Now onto the third phrase!"

"H-Huh?"

"The third phrase out of five...Are you ready?" Sonoko was quiet for a moment before she nodded.

"Hehe, good! Now for the third phrase…'I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti'...That is the third phrase…"

"What the? Now really...What kind of phrase is that?"

"It's the third phrase hehe, can you get it?"

"I thought you were going through some serious stuff with those first two quotes, and then you say something like that?"

"...Does that mean you give up?" Sonoko went to speak but went quiet again as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she began to think.

"Hm...Maybe you had some really bad beans?...Well no, where does the liver come into play…? Maybe you had liver as in meat?...But you said 'his' as if you're talking about a person...I doubt your talking about a cannibal...Wait...Cannibal...Liver is a type of ham...Combine the two you get...Hannibal...Hannibal Lecter!...Liver can also be eaten from other animals such as...Lambs...Oh! Silence of the Lambs! You're talking about the American Movie!"

"Hehe, well that was an interesting way to get to it...That was actually a quote from the movie, so if you had actually watched it then you would have known right away...But even with getting the movie, you have yet to finish the phrase."

"H-Huh? Thats not it?"

"Oh it's apart of the answer...But the phrase doesn't directly mean a movie. Try to think about the first two answers and go from there."

'The first two answers...The first one was about Jealousy...The second one was about Loneliness...The movie is popular so maybe about fame?...Well no it's not popular today...Money again? Well no…...Wait a minute...Silence of the Lambs...Silence...Silent! It's about silence! As in...Um...Oh! Staying quiet, even when you don't want to or...You have to stay quiet?"

"Yeah thats what it means…" Shinichi's smile vanished for just a moment before he resumed it, but Sonoko was able to catch the quick change.

"Hey...Are you sure you're okay…? I can tell Papa that you're not feeling well and need to lie down, and we can talk about it in my room where no one will disturb us, especially if it's serious…"

"Heh...I'm fine, just getting nervous."

"About what?"

"Heh, well about having to buy you lunch for the rest of your life of course!"

"Huh!? Is that why your seriously mopping? You shouldn't have issued the challenge in the first place if you're that worried!"

"Hehe, well anyway...Time for the fourth phrase…'Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.'...This one should be easier than the last one."

"Hm...Well...You play soccer, so this could mean that whenever you have a game the next day, you look forward to either winning or losing it, and you don't worry about the days of practice it took to get to that point...But it seems like everything so far has been a theme so...Maybe to look ahead? See greener pastures...Or...To move forward?"

"Hehe, yeah to move forward, told you that would be easier...After all, that was said by an American President and not by an American Movie."

"But what are you moving forward from? Or...Are you always prepared to move forward, but for the time being you cling to the past or...The present?"

"Heh, something like that...Now for the final phrase...Ready for the make or break question?"

"Hmph, I've gotten this far haven't I? No question you give me is going to stop me now!"

"Hehe, glad to hear...Now then...The final phrase…'If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter.'...Now for your final answer."

"Well...oblivious about love and laughter...A mother? Mama never seems to care about the company and leaves all that for papa, so maybe she's oblivious...But she doesn't really love or laugh about it either...Hm...If Only...So she's not oblivious anymore...Why is she not?"

"Here's a hint, she's not oblivious anymore because the answer has just been spelt out."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Think about it...All the answers so far can be attached to a certain type of person...If you think about them in a certain way that is...As for what way to think about, just use a word from the final phrase."

"Word from the final phrase huh? Well, I don't think it's laughter, as that doesn't really go with the sad theme so far...I guess it could be love...But in what context? Or rather what type of person can that all apply to? A depressed husband who just lost his wife maybe?"

"Try going through them one by one, and you may get the answer then."

"One by one...Hm...The first was Jealousy...Jealousy and love...Well that's easy enough, whenever you see your lover talking to someone else, your bound to get jealous...Or well whenever someone you like in general is talking to someone else, your bound to get jealous...It's human nature."

"Very true...And the next one?"

"The second phrase meant being lonely...Love and Loneliness can also go together...After all, if the person you like isn't with you or they chose someone else over you, you're going to be lonely...It actually fits the phrase well, because if you lonely because you lost your true love, then yeah, the world isn't going to be with you to comfort you."

"Very true, it's a very fitting quote...The third one?"

"The third phrase was about Silence...Silence and Love...Oh! You love someone but you can't tell them! Maybe you're scared, or they already have a partner, or something like that...Whatever the case may be, you have to stay silent about your feelings for them...Right?"

"Correct again, you almost have the answer." Swallowing a bit before continuing, Shinichi kept his smile, though beads of sweat were starting to form "The fourth phrase now…"

"The fourth phrase was about moving forward, or atleast being prepared to move forward. If related to love, this most likely means that you love someone and don't want to let them go just yet...But you're prepared to do so if needed, correct?"

"Right again, you're a worthy challenger!"

"Hm...I don't know how connecting love to all of those gives me the answer for the final phrase though…"

"Well...Maybe think about it as a man talking to a woman…"

"Hm? A man talking to a woman…?"

"While also applying love and the four terms to their conversation."

"Well...Maybe it's like this...This man is lonely when he's not with her, so thats why the world laughs with him, because when he's laughing, he's around her, but when he's weeping, he's not with her, so the world isn't weeping with him. He's also jealous because this woman is most likely popular, or has quite a few suitors beside just him, so he's jealous of the others vying for her attention. He's silent around her when it comes to love, because he can't confess, maybe because of their families, or because of some other reason...Add all of this up, and he's ready to move forward, move on from her...But he can't, so for the time being, he stays with her...Right?"

"That was perfect, you got it all right."

"Hm...But I don't know how that gives me the answer for the final phrase, especially the oblivious part...The only hint you gave me was she wasn't oblivious anymore because the answer was spelt o-" Sonoko's words caught in her throat as she stopped talking, causing a deafening silence to come in between them.

She tried to continue but couldn't, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind as her face began to heat up as her eyes slowly moved towards Shinchi, who no longer had his confidant smile, as it was replaced by just a straight face as it looked out to the distance, with beads of sweat rolling down his face.

She kept her eyes trained on him, expecting some sort of answer or question, anything really to break the silence...But she got nothing, no words or movement, he was as still as a rock...Because he was waiting for her to finish answering the question.

Sonoko swallowed as she tried to regain her words, trying to figure out what this all meant as she tried to continue on "T-The answer...W-Was spelt out...B-Because...She's not o-oblivious...Anymore…"

"..."

"...I mean...She's not oblivious anymore...Because he finally told her...And he wished he didn't, because...He's afraid she's going to lose that laughter they shared before...Right…?"

Sonoko's voice cracked with each word as she kept her eyes on Shinchi who barely moved...However, after she had finished, he just gave a small smile "Well, not quite but...It's good enough...You figured out the answer and thats good enough for me…"

"S-Shinchi…"

"...Sorry for making you do all that work, I didn't really know how to say it so...I decided to make it into a puzzle...W-Well at least you get free lunch for life from me, hehe...Hehe…"

Shinchi eyes looked downwards as he bit his lip, refusing to meet her eye to eye. "W-What if I…"

"Didn't get it? Then I would have done as the fourth phrase instructed and moved on...I mean I spelt it out pretty clearly...I'm jealous because you're always going on and on about cute guys in front of me, and describing what an idea guy is like...I'm lonely because I have the most fun when I'm with you, and when I'm on a case, and not by your side, it feels wrong...Like yes I love being a detective, and I never want to stop but...I just feel...Kinda lonely...But even still I stay silent, because I don't want to ruin our friendship...Because if you rejected me, I would have to move on to the fourth phrase and move on...And I don't want that…"

"...But...What about the fifth phrase?"

"Well that technically comes before the fourth, as you wouldn't be oblivious anymore, obviously...I wanted them to be in order, but...The only way to get the answer to you was do it a bit out of order."

"..."

"Well, now you know...And now that the first three phrases have been found out, along with the fifth...I guess it's time I move onto the fourth phrase…" Shinchi pushed himself up as he kept his poker face, yet Sonoko could see it was wavering ever so slightly. "Well...Hope the party gets better for you…"

Shinchi began to walk off, but before he could take more than a step, Sonoko reached up and grabbed his arm "..."

"S-Sonoko?" She didn't say anything as she got up herself, still holding onto him. "Y-Yes…?"

"...My present…"

"H-Huh?"

"You said...If I win...I get a present…"

"H-Huh? Oh yeah...I-I guess I did...Um...So free lunch forever? I may have to take on a few more cases to cover that ehehe…" Shinchi gave a small laugh but stopped as Sonoko looked down and took a breath before looking back up in his eyes as tears started to form in hers.

"I-I don't want lunch from you for the rest of my life!"

"o-Oh? T-Then how about…B-Breakfast?"

"Stupid! I don't want any kind of food from you! If anything, I-I should be making your lunch!" Sonoko's face became even redder as even Shinichi's had a tint of red appear on his face from her line.

"W-What do you mean…?"

"I-I Mean...I mean…" Sonoko closed her eyes as tears ran down from her eyes as she gave a determined look to Shinchi "I mean I want you for the rest of my life!"

"W-What…?" Shinichi's red tint became ever redder as he swallowed, now trying to make his own words out.

"I mean...How could you not see it? You say I'm oblivious? Did you never see what I did for you!?"

"I…"

"...I wore clothes everyday that are supposed to attract guys because I wanted you to look at me...Whenever I talked about my dream guy, I always mentioned things that applied to you...I made you lunch and treats whenever I could...Yet you never caught on...You tormented not only yourself, but me as well…"

"S-Sonoko...I-I'm sorry...I-I'm…" Shinchi tried to make the words out but once he figured he couldn't, he placed his hands on Sonoko's shoulders as she looked at him with her wet eyes "Sonoko...I promise...If you give me the chance, I'll do everything you want. I know you read a ton of romance novels, so I'll be just like the guys in those! I swear…"

"Stupid...I just...Want you to be like yourself…" Sonoko gave a small smile as she collapsed into Shinichi's arms and cried...But not a sad cry...A happy cry...A cry that signaled the next chapter in her life...A cry that was muffled as Shinichi held her close to his chest, under the light of the moon.


	2. Honey and Darling

**Notes:** _Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 2 of "Deduction Of Love" and the last(for now) flashback chapter of the series. This chapter has more fluff and awkwardness to it, but it's the last one covering the start of their relationship so I hope I did an adequate job at it.  
_

 _I tried experimenting a bit with the characters in this chapter as this is how I imagined Shinichi and Sonoko would act at the start of their relationship. In the show, Sonoko always got really excited and embarrassed around Makoto, so I figured for Shinichi, who is now her childhood friend and boyfriend, that would be even stronger, atleast at the start. So I wrote her as a girl who is finally with her true love and how one might act at first. Again, she might seem a tad OOC, but that was just for this initial flashback. Shinichi I wrote as the confidant boyfriend who isn't afraid to be seen with his girlfriend, but still has some of his embarrassment moments as well._

 _Also the first 'case' of the story will be in this chapter, though it's nothing big and more of a practice case than anything. Still I hope you guys enjoyed and will continue to tune in for more! Also feel free to leave suggestions for any other couples you may want to see(I have some finalized, but I may be open to change if given a good argument why)_

* * *

 **November 12, 2007**

As soon as Sonoko finished explaining to Ran about how her and Shinichi got together, she was as red as a ruby, while Ran had her hands together as she listened in awe "How romantic! Expressing his love to you in a way that only the two of you would get!"

"A-Ah yeah…" Sonoko blushed even harder as she scratched the side of her face in embarrassment "Although...I kinda wish he just came out and told me, I mean after all If I didn't solve that stupid game of his, then we may have never gotten together."

"Hm, maybe...But it just makes it more romantic if you ask me!" Ran clasped her hands together and gave a smile as Sonoko again just nodded and looked away, hating how embarrassed she was right now.

The two continued walking for a few more moments until they came upon the cherry blossom tree they met under every morning on their walk to school, the two of them looked around confused for a moment before Ran spoke up.

"Hm, that's weird...Shinichi-kun is usually here by now…" Ran was referring to the fact that ever since the three of them were kids, they had met under the same tree every morning and walked to school together, with the only exceptions being when one of them were sick or away somewhere, weather it was Sonoko on her family vacations or Shinichi on his cases.

"Hm...Oh wait a minute…" Sonoko pulled out her phone and began scrolling throughout her emails until she saw it. "Ah here it is."

"Hm? What is it?"

"My messages with Shinichi." Ran walked over and began reading over the messages with Sonoko as she scrolled down,although she couldn't help but notice something…

"Even in your contacts eh? Hehe~" Ran gave a small laugh as she looked at Sonoko who gave a confused look back.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Hehe, what you have down as Shinichi-kun's name." Sonoko raised an eyebrow and looked down before her face reddened again as she noticed was Ran was talking about. She had his name in her contacts as Anata(Darling) and didn't even realize it thanks to how used she was to it.

"W-Well y-yeah…" Sonoko looked away in embarrassment once again as Ran gave a small laugh.

"Hehe, that reminds me of the day after."

"Day after what…?"

"The day after you two got together of course! You had told me the night before so I was already knew and was really happy for you two, but no one else knew though. I remember how flustered you were during the entire day."

"W-Well can you blame me?I was worried I would screw up just one day into our relationship...Though I guess it's good memory to look back on…"

* * *

 _Flashback-Teitan High School, Day after Suzuki House Party_

The sun shown above the entire neighborhood as students talked and walked amongst each other, eager to begin another school day. To them it wasn't anything different than what they usually did.

But to Sonoko Suzuki, today was the most important day of her life. After her and Shinichi had confessed to each other the past night and became a couple, they had gone back to the party to avoid any suspicion, although by the looks their parents gave them afterwards, she had a feeling they knew.

She had stayed up all night reading book after book on how to be a girlfriend, and because of that she barely got any sleep. However she looked as energized as anyone else around, her nerves not allowing her to be tired as she walked to the local bus stop to meet with Ran.

As she walked, she kept replaying the scene from the night before in her mind over and over again, each time making the butterflies in her stomach multiply by the dozen as her face was as red as her nail polish, each step she took making her more and more nervous.

Sure she had told Ran the night before, but this was the first time she would see her best friend with a label...That label being Shinichi Kudo's girlfriend…

The butterflies multiplied by another dozen when she thought that.

She walked, step by step, until she finally arrived at the bus stop, and immediately she saw Ran leaning against the sign humming to herself. As Sonoko approached, Ran noticed her and grew a big smile as she ran over to her before placing her hands on her shoulders. "Sonoko! I'm so happy for you!"

"Y-Yeah u-uh…" Sonoko couldn't make out any words as her face grew even redder, before she looked away causing Ran to let out a awe.

"You're thinking of Shinichi-Kun aren't you!?"

"S-Stupid! How could I not right now?"

"Ah, it's just like a manga...Two childhood friends, destined to forever be together, finally tie the knot under the moonlight!"

"H-Hey it's not like we got married or anything! A-Also c-can you quiet down? I don't want everyone looking this way…"

"Hehe, fine fine, it's just that you tease me about getting a boyfriend all the time, so I thought I could have some fun since you finally got one!"

"Y-Yeah well…" Sonoko looked away emarisengily once again before she coughed in her hand and looked back "A-Anyway, we have a test today don't we?"

"Hm?...Oh yeah, we have one in english and math today I think...Did you study any last night?"

"E-Eh hehe well…"Sonoko gave a awkward laugh as Ran eyed her and went back to her teasing tone.

"Oh I see~ You were up all night thinking about Shinichi-kun and were hoping I'd help you get some quick study time in this morning right?"

"Eh well…" Sonoko gave another awkward laugh as Ran smiled and just nodded.

"Well for this one time I guess I can help out."

"Ah...Thanks…" Ran nodded as the bus pulled up and they gathered with the others on to it as they walked to back and sat down, the other passengers finding their own seats before the bus began to pull away. "Still, of all places to confess, I think it's pretty sweet that it was under the moonlight in your own garden."

"A-Ah yeah...Guess he's a bit more romantic than I thought…" Sonoko smiled as she looked down before she closed her eyes and sighed before clapping her hands together, surprising Ran.

"Huh? What is it Sonoko?"

"Ran…"

"E-Eh? Yeah?"

"..." Sonoko was silent for another moment before she looked Ran straight in the eyes "Do you think Shinichi reads romantic novels?"

"E-Eh?" Sonoko said it with a serious face as Ran gave her a confused look before replying "I mean...He never seemed like the guy to do something like that...Besides, when we go to the bookstore and such, he's always in the mystery section."

"Hm...But he's also a detective, so he may be secretly sneaking off and grabbing romance novel before taking the covers off and replacing them with one from the mystery section so we wouldn't notice when we paid for them...After all, how else could he have created such a romantic scene?"

"Well I doubt he would do something like that...Maybe he watched romance movies in his free time…" Ran began to think about such a possibility when another idea struck her "Maybe he just listened to you."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Like...Maybe whenever you would go off talking about guys, he would listen to you and see if you said anything about being confessed to, and went from there."

"Well I guess so...Though I doubt he would make it into a game…"

"Game?"

"Huh? You know, last ni-" Before Sonoko could finish, the bus suddenly came to a stop which jerked everyone on board "H-Huh whats going on?"

The two of them looked around outside, hoping to see what the problem was when they heard the bus driver up front start talking as the bus doors were opened "H-Hey kid, whats the big idea with waving your arms out in the street?"

"Hehe sorry about that, but I'm running late and need a ride!" The two of them heard a familiar voice, and when the person walked on board, they were shocked at who they saw.

"Kazumi?" Ran called out and the person, identified as Kazumi Tsukamoto,looked over and smiled.

"Ah! Ran, Suzuki-chan!" Kazumi waved over as she handed the bus fee to the driver, who accepted it though he gave a look towards her that screamed to never do a stunt like that again. Once she had paid, she walked over to the girls and sat down with them "I didn't know you rode the bus, I always thought you walked to school."

"Ah no, we ride about halfway and then we walk the rest."

"Ah I see...Hm? Is Kudoi-kun not with you?"Sonoko tensed up when she heard his name, but Ran just shook her head.

"Ah no, he meets us at a cherry blossom tree that's on the way and then we all three walk to school together."

"Ah I see…" Kazumi looked over at Sonoko and raised an eyebrow as she saw how nervous she seemed to be "Everything alright Suzuki-Chan?"

"E-Eh!?" Sonoko snapped out of her day dreaming and quickly nodded "Y-Yeah! Just a bit distracted, that's all, nothing to worry about Tsukamoto-Senpai, ehehe…"

"Huh….?"

Sonoko gave another nervous laugh but stopped when Ran gave her a teasing look "No matter what you say to Sonoko, I don't think she's going to really be listening today."

"Huh? Is she sick or something?"

"Well if you want to consider her love sick, then that would be an appropriate way of saying it!"

"Love...Sick?" Sonoko had sweat falling down her face as she quickly injected herself into the conversation to avoid any more embarrassment.

"H-Hey now Ran...Senpai here doesn't care about that stuff ehehe...Heh... _Why am I acting this way? I read all those romance novels last night so I should have a pretty good grasp on how to act as a girlfriend around others…"_

"Well whatever it is, I hope you get everything settled!"

"O-Oh yeah...Thanks…" Sonoko heard Ran conceal a laugh but she didn't try to continue that line of questioning as she saw Sonoko was still trying to adjust to her new situation.

"Anyway, you guys should be careful by the way, apparently a pervert has been spotted around the school lately."

"Eh? A pervert?" Kazumi nodded as she pulled out her phone and loaded up a picture.

"When I was checking around the school yesterday, I found that the girls restroom had been broken into and muddy footprints were leading from the window and to one of the stalls. When I opened the stall they were in, I found an entire bag full of panties inside!"

"W-What!? Why would a pervert bring panties to the girls bathroom?"

"I don't know exactly, but all of them were wrinkled like they had been used, which just pisses me off because I can't help but imagine some old guy stuffing his face in them!"

"Ew! That's terrible to think about…" As Kazumi and Ran talked about the sudden emergence of a pervert around the school, Sonoko had gone by to her dream world as she continued to think about the events of the previous night.

" _I wonder how Shinichi will act when we meetup? Will he act like he always does by waving to us and then walking to school? I'll be a little disappointed if nothing changes...Oh I've never had a boyfriend before other than the ones papa would occasionally have me eat dinner with...Those novels I read always had the guy take the initiative but...What if Shinichi doesn't? Should I?...But what do couples do? I never see them holding hands or hugging in public, but I see them do it at parks and such...Is it okay if I hold his hand? Umu...This is so complicated…"_

"What do you think Suzuki-Chan?"

" _Whenever me and Shinichi watch American movies, the couples in those always seem very close and personal with each other...But whenever I watch movies from here, they're never seem that close until the very end of the movie, why is that? Whenever I tried to make Shinichi jealous by latching onto other guys, they always seemed uncomfortable...I wonder why that is…?"_

"Hey...Sonoko!"

" _Maybe I should ask first...Shinichi knows alot about America, so maybe he would know if hand holding and such is something they only do over there or if Japan does it as well but only in certain places? But even if I can't hold his hand I can still hug him right? I mean we hugged for like half an hour last night so I don't see a problem with that…"_

"Sonoko!"

"E-Eh!?" Sonoko popped out of her day dream as she looked over at Ran and Kazumi who were giving her confused looks "Y-Yeah?"

"We were talking about the pervert that's been spotted around the school, we were talking that maybe Shinichi-kun could solve the case, what do you think?"

"O-Oh um...Yeah I would think so, seems pretty simple compared to what he usually does ehehe…" Sonoko gave a nervous laugh to the two of them which just confused Kazumi even more confused as Ran had to hide her smile.

"Well anyway...Just be careful you two, who knows what that pervert may try...Although as long as you're with Ran, you should be just fine Suzuki-Chan!" Sonoko just nodded as the bus continued down the road as the partially clouded sky shown over them,

Soon the bus came to a step and the three girls walked off with the other students who had boarded as the three of them began walking to school, the conversation about the pervert continuing as Kazumi and Ran tried to think who the pervert was, while Sonoko continued to ask the same questions over and over again in her mind as she tried to come up with an answer to each and every one of them.

As the three girls continued to walk, they got closer and closer to the cherry blossom tree that Ran and Sonoko met Shinichi at every morning, as more and more students conjoined around them as they came from different parts of the neighborhood.

Through all the talking and sound of footsteps, Sonoko was still in her own world until her wandering eyes landed on the tree in front them, and the sight made her snap back into reality as she saw Shinichi, leaning against three, reading over his notes like he did every morning.

She could feel her breath catch in her throat as she walked closer and closer to him, not making any sudden movements or any sounds, as if she was walking up to an wild animal. Her feet continued its rhythmical pattern until she saw Shinichi look up from his notes and look over towards them, causing her heart to speed up even more.

She saw him smile as his eyes landed on her as he closed his notebook and placed it inside of his jacket pocket before he stuffed his hands into his pockets and began walking over to the three of them.

Sonoko tried to speak but she didn't know what to say, each time her mouth tried to move it froze as if it was sewn together. A voice finally did ring out as she saw Ran wave towards him "Shinichi-kun!"

Shinichi waved back towards her as they all met about halfway as Sonoko felt the world around her was enclosing on herself. Shinichi kept his smile trained on them as he spoke up "Ran, Kazumi-Senpai, nice to see you two this morning."

"And it's nice to see that you still refer to people by their first name Kudo-kun." Kazumi gave a deadpanned reaction to Shinichi who just laughed and shrugged.

"What can I say, I'm used to dealing with suspects and therefore I use their full names." Kazumi just out a sigh at the response as Shinichi gave another small laugh. However, afterwards, he walked over to Sonoko, as she felt the world get even smaller with each step he took towards her until he was just inches away from her, as she felt like the two of them were trapped in a small cube together. "Good morning, Sonoko."

Unlike with the other two, Shinichi used a much softer and more caring voice towards Sonoko which caused her to blush even harder as she nodded towards him and tried to respond as Kazumi kept her same confused look from the bus while Ran had put her hands together and watched in awe. "G-Good…"

Sonoko tried to speak up but found that the words were still caught in her throat, her thoughts all were running together...These would be the first words she would speak to Shinichi in front of her friends since she became his girlfriend, she had to make sure it counted.

"G-Good morning...U-Um...A-Anata." As soon as the words left Sonoko's mouth,she wanted to curl up in a ball right then and there. She couldn't believe she just said that! Sure that was said in her novels, but that was always used in private and never in front of friends, let alone school friends!

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the word, as even Ran seem suprised when she heard it. Kazumi on the other hand, didn't know what Sonoko meant until she thought for another moment. "Anata…? Why did you…?"

Kazumi tried to continue to think as Sonoko's embarrassment hit an all time high, as she wanted to run away and just hide from her friends, but a sense of dread also overtook her. On her very first full day as Shinichi's girlfriend, she had embarrassed the both of them. She was sure that she had already ruined it.

However despite the initial confusion, Shinichi just smiled at her again as he laid his hand on her shoulder as she looked up at him with a beet red face."Anata huh? Well then let me see...Did you sleep well last night, Hani(Honey)?"

Sonoko's face went from beet red to full on sunburnt red as she tried to speak but no words again came out as Ran's face went from one of confusion to awe again as Kazumi still tried to figure out what the two of them meant. "Why are you guys calling each other by weird names?"

Shinichi looked over at Kazumi with a confused expression before he spoke "Did they not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Shinichi's smile returned as he looked down at Sonoko and winked as he walked beside her and placed his arm around her causing her to start stuttering.

"H-Hey! S-Stupid! What are you doing, we're in pu-"

"Me and Sonoko are together as a couple now." Sonoko's protesting stopped after Shinichi spoke as her mind began to wander through her thoughts again, as after the initial embarrassment she started to remember that this is what she wanted, but the suddenness of it all caught her off guard.

"Eh…?" Kazumi took a moment to process what he had said but her face turned to one of surprise and shock after she heard him speak. "Kudo-kun and Suzuiki-chan are dating!?"

Shinichi just nodded as he pulled her close to him causing her to shrink down some more from embarrassment as Ran could audibly be heard aweing at the entire scene.

"Well...I can't exactly approve of public affection, but I'm glad you two were able to find each other in such a way! Although I'm suprised Suzuki-chan or Ran didn't tell me on the ride over here...Though I guess we were talking about the perv-...The Pervert! Kudo-Kun, I need your help with something!"

"Hm? What is it?" Kazumi walked over to Shinichi and pulled out her phone as she opened up the image and showed him.

"Someone got into the girls restroom yesterday and left an entire bag of panties inside! I'm pretty sure it's some disgusting pervert, because all of them were crumpled up and just thrown inside." Kazumi showed the picture to Shinichi of the girls restroom where the window had been opened and muddy footprints could be seen on the ground leading into the stall.

"Hm...I only see footprints leading into the stall, was someone still in there when you looked around?"

"That's the strange thing, when I opened the stall, the only thing inside was the bag of panties...I checked all the other stalls but I didn't find anybody, and I didn't find any shoes either...I guess they could have wiped their shoes off, but why wouldn't they wipe off the footprints on the ground?" Shinichi kept looking over the picture until he commented again.

"Which restroom was this and where is the bag now?"

"It was the girls restroom on the ground floor...And I moved the bag to the martial arts room to keep anyone else from finding it and opening it."

"I see...Let me see the bag first, and then let's head over to the restroom."

"Eh? But it's the girls restroom Kudo-Kun!"

"No worries, school hasn't started yet, and you can check inside for me beforehand and then stand guard when I investigate, right?"

"I...Well yeah I guess I could.." Shinichi nodded as he moved his arm out from around Sonoko as she immediately felt the warmth he had provided vanish as he began running towards the school, and soon afterwards the three girls were following him.

* * *

After running past everyone and pushing them all out of the way, they eventually made it to the martial arts room, and after having Kazumi unlock the doors, the four of them made their way inside as a big black bag sat in the middle of the room.

"That's the bag with all the panties inside! Even just looking at it pisses me off." Shinichi nodded as he walked over and placed gloves on before he unzipped the bag and pulled it open, revealing all different kinds of panties inside. He reached and grabbed one as he unfolded it in front of his face which caused all the girls to awkwardly look at each other.

After looking it over, he placed it back in the bag and looked at another one...And then another one...And another one...After looking through five-six pairs, he pulled out his notebook and wrote something down before he looked back at the girls "All of the panties in this bag are about the size for children, none of them have tags so I had to go off of looking them over."

"Children?! That sick bastard must be a lolicon!" Kazumi pounded her fists together as her energy began to build up and even Ran looked ready to kick someone. However Shinichi didn't say anything as he zipped the bag back up and looked over the sides.

"Hm? What's this…" Shinichi turned the bag over and on the bottom was a taped piece of paper with words written on it.

"Oh yeah, I saw that yesterday...I couldn't read it though, so I thought it was some prank."

"You couldn't read it Kazumi?" Kazumi looked over and Ran and shook her head.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure I've seen that language before but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head."

"Oh...Well Shinichi-kun, do you know what language it is?" Shinichi nodded as he stood back up,and after reading over the message, he smiled as he placed the note into his pocket and turned around towards them.

"Yeah it's in english."

"English?"

"Yeah and after reading it, I think we can rule out a pervert as being the one who placed this in the girls restroom."

"Eh? Then who placed it there?"

"Well I think I know...But just to be sure, let me look over the girls restroom."

* * *

After making sure the restroom was empty and that it was safe for Shinichi to go in, Kazumi walked outside as she point at the ground where the muddy footprints were still visible."You can see them still, the footprints...It shows that the culprit didn't wipe them off, even when I left."

Shinichi walked into the restroom and bent down near the footprints and after looking them over, his smiled as he wrote some more notes down into his notebook before looked over at Kazumi. "When you found the bag, did you investigate inside of the stall?"

"Huh? I mean I checked everyone to see if the guy was still in here, but that was all…" Shinichi nodded as he walked over to the stall that the footprints lead into and looked around it before he jumped up onto the toilet seat and looked on top of the stalls "Hey you're going to fall!"

"...Kazumi, I figured out how the culprit was able to escape."

"Eh? How?" Shinichi ran his finger across the top of the stall before jumping back down as he held his finger up.

"See whats on my glove?" The girls looked at Shinichi's finger and all three immediately noticed what he was talking about as Kazumi spoke up.

"M-Mud!?"

"Yeah...After the culprit came into the restroom, they dropped the bag off in the stall and them climbed onto of the same stalls and balanced themselves as they hopped from one stall to another before jumping back onto the window and leaving."

"Wait, why would they have to do that? They already left footprints leading inside, why try to cover when you're leaving?"

"Think back, why did you check inside the girls restroom yesterday?"

"Huh? Why? Well I was doing my rounds through the school, and when I walked past the restroom I heard a sound and-Wait!"

"Exactly, you most likely heard the stall door closing behind the intruder when they came inside of the stall, and after placing the bag down, they heard you come in and panicked, so they leapt on top of the stall and quickly ran over to the window when you opened the stall."

"But wait a minute! The stall is only a few feet from the roof, even if someone did get up there, they wouldn't have made it to the window before I caught them! I even checked all the stalls right after so It's not like they hid in one of them!"

"The answer to that is fairly simple, they were only a few feet tall themselves...Or in other words...A child!"

"A-A child!?"

"Yeah, look at the footprints. They're pretty small aren't they? While you might have come to the conclusion that they were a small perverted old man, it's most likely a child. After all, an old man wouldn't have the athletic ability like a child would have to be able to scale across the stalls and get over to the window."

"But if they were that small, how could that have gotten up to the top of the stall? There wasn't any mud on the toilet seat or anything!"

"Thats simple, it's the bag."

"Huh? The bag?"

"Yeah...Though the bag is black and can be hard to see, when I was examining it over, I saw dried mud stains in the shape of a shoe barely along the top of it. Most likely after placing the bag inside of the stall, they heard you come in. Realizing they might be caught, they jumped up onto the bag and ran across the stalls to escape."

"But...Why would a child do all that?"

"Thats where the note on the bottom comes in, since you don't know english you obviousely wouldn't have been able to read it. But if you were able to read it, it might make a bit more sense."

"Well don't keep us waiting, read it!" Shinichi nodded as he reached inside of his jacket and pulled the note out and began reading.

"Now, it says…'I've outgrown these and no longer have any use for them. Mommy bought me a bunch of new pairs the other day, so I've decided to give them to the school. PS, Sorry for coming into the bathroom, I saw a scary woman walking around the school and got scared.'...That's what it says."

"Huh? That sounds like...It was a little girl?"

"Most likely, from how she describes out growing them and her mother buying her new ones. She didn't want to throw them away I would guess, so she decided to give them to the school...However she most likely got the schools mixed up."

"Huh? Mixed up?"

"The elementary school is right beside of the high school, and this girl most likely attends said school and was wanting to give them to her friends, but she didn't want them to know it was her. So after school had let out, she planned on sneaking in and putting this bag in her class or somewhere...However she got the schools mixed up and came to the high school, and that's when she saw Kazumi, and since she didn't know who you were, she got scared and went around and came into the restroom. She most likely added that little extra note when she found a window she could climb into and she saw it was the bathroom. It's been raining recently, so the ground is most likely still muddy, which is why her footprints could be tracked."

"I guess that makes sense...But why did she want to be unknown and why did she hide when I came in, I mean for all she knew it was one of her friends."

"Considering school had let out, she most likely knew the person who came into here was the same one she saw outside, so that spooked her. However I think the reason she wanted to remain unknown is because of a game."

"Game?" Shinichi nodded as he pointed at the signature on the note.

"It says, Secret Santa...That's a game in America where people give gifts to each other, without knowing who they're from...It's December now, so she most likely wanted to play this game so she had an excuse to give her panties away. Considering her age, she's most likely an American who can speak English and Japanese, but can only write English, which is why the note is in English. I'm sure if you head over to the Elementary school when the bell rings, you can ask if an American student goes there, and be able to find the culprit."

"Huh...Well...You better be right, because I don't want a pervert around here!"

And so, Kazumi took the bag and walked over to the Elementary school, and sure enough, the first teacher she asked was able to direct her to the student in question. After asking her if the bag belonged to her, she got a guilty expression on her face as she said that her mom wanted to throw away some of her clothes, but she didn't want them to go to waste so she wanted to give them to her friends.

Though a bit annoyed at first, Kazumi finally relented and just told the girl that they're are better ways to give stuff away, and that breaking in somewhere is never the answer. The girls mother was called and the bag was given back to her, and after initially scolding her daughter, she reassured her that she would donate the clothes so they wouldn't be wasted before apologizing to Kazumi for the inconvenience.

* * *

"Whew, today was something...From starting off with what we thought was a pervert, to just being a little kid, all the way to that test today…" Ran stretched her arms out as her, Sonoko and Shinichi walked to the bus stop together.

While Sonoko and Shinichi had talked throughout the school day, Sonoko had stayed quiet mostly since they left the school.

"Although I'm surprised Shinichi-kun, you seemed pretty confident that it was just a kid."

"Hehe, well that's because the handwriting was pretty sloppy and written in crayon, so I kinda figured it was a kid. The message itself just confirmed it."

"Ah...I see…" The three continued walking in silence until they made it to the crossroads where Shinichi would depart. The three of them stood in silence for a moment before Sonoko reached up and grabbed Shinichi's sleeve, surprising him, as she looked at Ran.

"H-Hey Ran...I'll meet you at the bus stop…" Ran looked at her for a moment before giving a somewhat motherly smile as she nodded and headed on, leaving the two of them alone. "U-uh...Sorry about earlier where I called you Anata...It kinda just came out…"

"Well...Same here, sorry for calling you Hani...I kinda got lost in the moment with you…" Shinichi scratched the back of his head while Sonoko looked around all over the place as the two of them tried to find the words to say. "A-Ah also...Sorry for putting my arm around you..I-I'm sure you didn't like that all that much…"

Sonoko felt her breath catch in her throat as she tried to reply, but again nothing came out...She didn't know what to say...Well no, that's not quite right...She knew what she wanted to say but she didn't know how to say it. After thinking for a moment, she swallowed as she leaned up against Shinichi and wrapped her arms around him surprising him.

"S-Sonoko?" She didn't reply for a moment before she looked up at him and smiled.

"I...Want to be like the couples we see in American movies...Where they're holding hands and hugging and everything...Otherwise...It won't feel special…" Shinichi was surprised for a moment and didn't say anything which caused Sonoko to continue. "i-If that's alright with you…"

Shinichi didn't answer for a few more moments, which worried Sonoko, but soon she felt his arms wrap around her as well as he gave her a smile. "If that's what you want, then fine by me...Only on condition though…"

"W-Whats that?"

Shinichi leaned in as he whispered "As long as I get to call you Hani…"

Sonoko felt her face heat up as she looked down for a moment, and after finding the words she spoke "S-Stupid...You only get to call me that if I get to call you Anato…"

She heard Shinichi laugh as he pulled her in closer and whispered again "Fine with me...Hani…"

"Hehe...I'm glad to hear...Anato…"


End file.
